Martin Rivas :: Lyrics

Bottleneck
released 2002

Back There	Part of the Deal	Pray for the Impossible	Bottleneck	My Little Soul
Real & Good & True	Flower Store	Release	What A Guy	Star Notes

BACK THERE
(Rivas)

Back there, another city
Back there, another town
One less gallon of gas and one mile closer to breaking down

I can't be understanding, I can't be sensitive
I gave up when I realized what you needed the least was the most that I could give

Not far to get some dinner, not far to get a bed
One less person to think about
One more body in my head

Back there, another diner
Back there, another thrill
The rising sun ends the anguish over the night before
The evening before

The engine screaming for mercy from the unforgiving road
Tires unconscious and bleeding, about to explode
Skidmarks like nails on a wall, that sick familiar sound
Plunging deep in the ground
Digging deep in the ground
Endless sleep in the ground

That scar is slowly healing
That scar will be around
If you're in for a penny, you're in for a pound

Back there, another exit
Back there, another cop
If he could tell me where I'm going
I might pull over

PART OF THE DEAL
(Rivas)

Things that I never dreamed
Things that I never thought
Things that I never said left to rot in my head
Places I've never been
Courage I've never seen

Breathe the breathable air
Let the buyer beware
Let the buyer be wise
Let him think with his eyes
Let him think with his ears, every sound that he hears

That's for sure
I couldn't put it any better
Any worse and you wouldn't want to know
That's for sure... that's for sure

If the going gets tough
If the way's ever rough
If the road's really bad
Not the worse that we've had
If it doesn't seem real, it's just part of the deal

If supply meets demand, keep your heart in your hand
If demand beats supply, keep your head to the sky
Walk and talk like a man... be the best that you can

That's for sure
I couldn't put it any better
Any worse and you wouldn't want to know
That's for sure... that's for sure

PRAY FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE
(Rivas)

Never been hurt before
Never had my heart thrown through a plate-glass door
I've only known what's real, and good, and true
What I felt for you

Where would I go?
What would I find if you should ever choose to leave me behind?

Is there a song in your heart that you never learned to sing?
Has it played on and on?
How's it go?
Does it inspire you as you inspire me?
Teach me the music... I'll sing it to you happily

To me it seems simple
Can it be done?
Spend your life truly loving only one?

But there can't be a way
Never say impossible
But we change every day
Never say impossible
But I have... so perhaps I need to pray for the impossible now

I sometimes ask myself what it is I want
I ain't gonna get it 'til I know it... and that's the easy part
I've been lucky, in a relatively happy space
But is it gonna be that way 'til I reach my final resting place?

The question is simple:
The love that I found
Is it forever gonna be around?

There's no way you can know
Never say impossible
How the wind's gonna blow
Never say impossible
But it feels good, even so, to pray for the impossible now

Late at night when my empty eyes are free to leave their trails of white... to roam
And I see that I'm ashamed of all that I might someday be
How will you picture me?

It's always been simple because it's been real
I've never known any other way to feel

But there can't be a way
Never say impossible
But we change every day
Never say impossible
But I have... so perhaps I need to pray for the impossible now

There's no way you can know
Never say impossible
How the wind's gonna blow
Never say impossible
But it feels good, even so, to pray for the impossible now

My feet are planted firm
Never say impossible
I'm gonna grab the world... I'm gonna make it turn
Never say impossible
Touch the stars, and feel 'em burn
Pray for the impossible now

I believe deep down inside
Share your love, and love will come and be your guide
That's the point... the point of being alive
Anything is possible now

BOTTLENECK
(Rivas)

Seeds are planted and children born
Birth canals are traveled and traffic lines are bound to form
Three lanes into one
It's awful crowded... even early on

The motor sends you off into existence
The motor sends you off and on the run
Three lanes into one
It isn't easy... it never was

Defined by who you know and where you met them
Defined by how you talk, not what you say
Three lanes into one
Might take forever... but you're on your way

It wasn't in your plan, the complication
This isn't how you thought it was gonna be
Three lanes into one is never easy...
Nor should it be

The past defines the future, as time goes on
It bottlenecks the energy you're living on
Three lanes into one
Won't shed an answer... the questions linger on

Won't you tell me, darlin', what you think it means?
'Cause you're the only sanity that I have seen
Three lanes into one
Can't be good for me... or for anyone

Seeds are planted and children born
Birth canals are traveled and traffic lines are bound to form
Three lanes into one
Three lanes into one
Three lanes into one

MY LITTLE SOUL
(Rivas)

My little soul
My little soul gonna fly away
My little soul gonna fly away

All I've done
When I think about the things I've done
And that's been done to me
Fly away
My little soul gonna fly away

Are you going somewhere?
Are you going somewhere far?
Are you going somewhere?
Anywhere but where we are?
Get me out of here... far away
Temptation grabs at me every day
I'll get over, I'll get by
With every laugh
With every cry
I'm learning how to fly

My little soul
My little soul gonna fly away
My little soul gonna fly away... fly away.

REAL & GOOD & TRUE
(Rivas)

If love is real and love is forever, it's awful odd to think
That you could fall in love forever over dinner and a drink
But love defies you as it draws you deeper ever still
And as long as it's the real thing
Every dream it will fulfill...

And real is how I want it
And good is how I want it
And true is how I want it
How I want it
How I want it
All I wanted it to be...

Was real
And all I wanted was you
You're all I wanted
You're more than what I wanted
What I wanted
You're all I wanted
Ever wanted

All I ever did was kneel at my bedside and cry
All I ever did was wait 'til the day that I'd die
Just a broken man with a nervous laugh
'Til my better half came along
Made me whole, made me feel
Made me real

And real feels so honest
It feels so honest
Love is honest
I'm being honest when I say...

It's real
So real, and that's how I want it
All I wanted
You're more... you're so much more than what I wanted
So much more
You're everything

FLOWER STORE
(Rivas)

I can see her and all, when she was leaving
Douse the forgotten torch and everything she left behind
And I, I couldn't wait to see just what she'd plant
She'd lay a thousand little seeds and move along in bursts of color

Though it's been so long, I'm sure she's staring
While she tries to get his name
And the blouse she wore, I'm sure she's wearing
In a flower store
While everything around her might have changed
Who says some things can't be the same?

She'll walk the streets all dreamy-eyed
But still she'll know what's going on
Every morning wipe the counter clean
Gift-wrap a wink to push aside
Was that enough to lead him on?
Grab a map and check the nighttime scene

When the sun goes down, she'll be there admiring
While the blossoms thank the rain
But every tree turns brown, and she'll soon be tiring of the same old town
I feel her sudden urge to re-arrange
But who says some things can't be the same?

Sunlight and an open door sign
Raindrops on the sill
I can understand what she's heading for
'Cause I knew her, I thought I knew her so well

I can see her and all, I still can see her
A daisy on my windowsill
A wildflower on an old back road
And I, I'll sit and wait to see just what she'd plant
She laid a thousand little seeds
I watch them blossom every Spring

When the sun goes down, and I'm there admiring
While the blossoms thank the rain
But every tree turns brown, I'm already tiring of the same old town
I feel her sudden urge to re-arrange
But who says some things can't be the same?

RELEASE
(Rivas)
So many words that I can't think to say
A song that came written the very first day I laid eyes on my heart, my soul
Relinquished control
The tension relieved when two halves are made whole
The taste of the sun on your skin

How many years has it been since we met?
The pictures are frayed but I'll never forget
Santa Fe, Maui, Galway, Rome
We always were home
There'll never be days enough, we've been clearly shown
Grateful for every hour together we've known
But my, how the time sure has flown...

My heart holds a photograph of you and of me
The mirror says different, but we'll always be
Thirty-one, Twenty-five, Sixteen
And all in between
The joy which we've lived makes a passionate scene
Describe for the millionth time the places we've seen
The time with you has justified everything

WHAT A GUY
(Rivas)

No one would visit him there
No one would visit him anywhere
No one would write or call
And he didn't care

Nails and bones and frizzy hair
Skin and nipples extremely fair
All the reason to get chased off the beach in his underwear

On his legs he could barely stand
A kid could pick him up with one hand
Throw him and Lord only knows where he would land

What a guy
What a guy to try and be like
What a guy to try and be like
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be like that guy

The casino is packed
What kind of person would he attract with a massive pile of chips
He keeps 'em neatly stacked

Pulls some clay from off his rack
Plays the Yo and eases back
Elevens rolling for hours and people are screaming
He barely reacts

What a guy
What a guy to try and be like
What a guy to try and be like
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be like that guy

What a guy
What a guy to try and be like
What a guy to try and be like
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be like that guy
It's worth a try

No one would look at his face
No one would look at him anyplace
Like he was from undersea or outer space
Look at that face!

What a guy
What a guy to try and be like
What a guy to try and be like
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be like that guy

STAR NOTES
(Rivas)

Star notes, star notes
Get me as many as you can
Can't you see, I'm a sucker for a special kind of money
Yes, I'm a star-note-loving man

Painting the town
The night isn't ending
We're knocking them down
We're getting cross-eyed at the bar because we're spending

Star notes, star notes
Get me as many as you can

(and we've got Spaniards in the band!)
Notas estrellas, notas estrellitas
¡Deme tanto como usted puede!

The Grim Reaper sees it isn't going with you when you're life is ending
The bankers agree
So now they're giving them away instead of lending

Star notes, star notes
Get me as many (notas estrellas)
Get me as many (notas estrellas)
'Cause I'm a star-note-loving man